A new season on the horizon

33 days and counting until opening day for the Yankees and only 1.5 key injuries to date. Abreu with an oblique strain and Pavano with a bone bruise. Can't count Pavano's injury as more than .5 since he hasn't really played in 2 years. Top it off with Damon taking a few days off for unspecified (that's whay they call them) personal reasons. Looks to be an eventful year in the Bronx. Overall, I think it will be another good season for the Yanks in what should be a more competitive AL East. The Dice-K and Igawa are obvious question marks for the two power clubs and who knows what is left in the tanks of Pettitte and Schilling....and will Clemens be a factor. Will the BlueJays be for real, or just posers for April-July. Will the Rays and O's even show up? Any thoughts and/or predictions for the 2007 season?

FYI....for some fan coverage of the Yanks and Mets see www.nybaseballtalk.com A little thin for now, but since it is a conversation it's all about what you put into it. The guys/gals do respond to posts and all have "real" jobs (I think) but it's nice to see a different view than the NYDN, NYP and NYT. Hopefully the content and posts increase once the season gets underway. And, just because it must be said, ESPN is just miserable since most of the best baseball contributors are now premium content.

Bobby Ross - Retires

Three years into his five year contract, Bobby Ross retired yesterday as head coach of Army football. It is easy to state that he never lived up to the hype/hope from when he was hired. I think he did more than some of us, long time season ticket holders, thought possible. In the two seasons prior to Ross's arrival Army was a combined 1-25 including an unprecedented 0-13 in 2003. With two wins in 2004 and four wins in 2005 the fans had reason to believe there was at least a chance for the Black Knights to win on any game day. Even during the 2006 season, a disappointing 3-9 record, there were the occasional flashes of what could be. Most notably, a fantastic game against Texas A&M in September where up to the final moments Army had a chance to win against a much bigger, stronger and faster opponent.

Thanks for bringing a glimmer of hope to the true Army fans, enjoy your retirement.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070130/SPORTS/701300327